


Until August 11th

by TheJediAssassinGirl



Category: nonfandom
Genre: Based on my actual experiences as a camp counselor, Mace is based on my coworker who I have a massive crush on, Other, Summer camp story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-23
Updated: 2019-08-11
Packaged: 2020-07-12 03:49:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 4,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19939732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheJediAssassinGirl/pseuds/TheJediAssassinGirl
Summary: Thalia Sava and Mace Goodfellow are best friends who work at a summer camp together, but what happens when Thalia’s feelings of friendship turn into something more?





	1. The beginning

When Thalia Sava and Mace Goodfellow were bunked together their first year as Animal Specialists in Training at Cub Creek Science Camp, everyone was sure things would end in disaster. Mace had arrived late to camp, and the bed underneath Thalia’s had been the only one open. Campers and staff alike had watched the pair with bated breath, waiting for the moment that the theater kid and the kid who liked bugs would blow up at each other. For the first two days, the two had regarded each other with amiable indifference, neither outright disliking the other, but both preferring to hang out with other people. Then, one day, both of them had been sitting on a couch in the ASIT lounge during their break, drawing in their sketchbooks, when one of the ASIT leaders had asked Mace what they were drawing.

“A D&D character,” Mace had responded absentmindedly. Thalia’s head had snapped up at the mention of the tabletop RPG. 

“You play D&D?” She’d said. “Dude, we’ve  _ gotta _ get a campaign together!” From then on, she and Mace were damn near inseparable. Over the next two years, they would always come to the same ASIT session. After they aged out, they promised to tell each other if they got hired as staff the next summer, but Thalia’s phone broke, and Mace’s contact was lost.


	2. LARP

Thalia now sat in Cub Creek’s dining hall, watching as staff filtered in. She eyed the ever-decreasing stack of black nametags on the table occasionally, but she mainly watched the door, waiting for the familiar brown-haired figure to come in.

“Alright guys!” Holly, the wellness coordinator, said. “Get with your cabin groups, we’re going to take a tour!”

“But there are still nametags on the table,” Thalia pointed out.

“Not everyone’s here yet, and that’s okay!” Holly said. “They’ll be trickling in over the course of staff training.” Thalia nodded in understanding. A few days later, as the counselors were lining up for lunch, a somewhat battered and dirty Subaru pulled into the parking lot. Out of it stepped the person Thalia had been keeping hopeful eye out for over the course of the week. 

“Mace!” She shouted, charging towards her friend at full tilt. Mace laughed as Thalia bear hugged them. 

“Dude, why didn’t you tell me you got a job here?” They asked. “I was worried! I haven’t heard from you in ages!” 

“My phone broke, and I had to get a new number, and I lost your contact,” Thalia replied. “Otherwise I would’ve told you the minute I got it! Dude, we  _ gotta  _ do a LARPing course together. Ari already approved it.”

“Oh, obviously, yeah,” Mace said. 

“I think you’re in Arizona with me, and I don’t have a bunkmate,” Thalia said. “We can get started planning tonight. Ari’s given me permission to make boffers.”

“Sounds like a plan!” Mace said, grinning broadly. Thalia helped them haul their luggage to the welcome pavilion.

“Oh hey!” Mace said. 

“What?” Thalia asked, turning around. Mace held something small and grayish-brown in their hand.

“I got a frog,” Mace announced. “It’s an eastern tree frog.”

“Mace, you’ve barely been here five minutes,” Thalia said, laughing. “Leave the frogs alone.”

“Impossible,” Mace declared. “I must bother these animals.” Thalia rolled her eyes, grinning. 

“C’mon, weirdo,” she teased. “Put the frog down and let’s eat.” As the two ate, they discussed their LARPing course.

“Hey, are you talkin’ LARP?” A small Scottish international with short brown hair leaned across the table.

“Yeah,” Mace said. “I don’t think we’ve been introduced.”

“Oh right!” Thalia said, “Teddy, this is Mace, my best friend in the entire world! Mace, this is Teddy, they’re awesome.”

“Oh, you use they/them too?” Mace asked. 

“Yeah,” Teddy said. “I mean, I don’t  _ mind _ she/her, I just  _ prefer _ they/them, y’know?”

“Teddy is a chaos spirit,” Thalia added helpfully. 

“Right, and chaos isn’t binary,” Teddy said. Mace laughed. “Anyway, can I help out on LARP?” Teddy asked. “LARP is my  _ shit. _ ” Thalia grinned.

“We’d be happy to have you,” She said.


	3. Fellas, is it gay?

“Ugh, I’m bored outta my fucking mind,” Thalia complained. It was the second week of staff training, and everyone was getting the camp ready to open. Unfortunately for the counselors, that meant doing hard, tedious labor: laying mulch, picking up trash, and sweeping. Currently, Mace and Thalia were sweeping out the barn, and they were both extremely bored. 

“Engarde!” Mace said, grabbing their broom near the bristles, holding it like a sword. Thalia raised an eyebrow at them.

“I did tell you I became a Talon this year, right?” She said. “A knight of Calontir? Champion of the tournament at both Crown Tournament  _ and _ Winter Court? Ringing any bells?”

“Yeah, you told me,” Mace replied.

“And you still want to fight?” Thalia asked. Mace shrugged. 

“Why not?” They asked. “It’ll make things less boring. Besides, I bet a candy bar I can beat you.”

“Oh, you’re on,” Thalia said, launching herself at her friend. Mace was barely able to block her volley of overhead blows, much less return with any of their own. Surprisingly, they were able to hold their own against Thalia, despite the other’s high level of training. Mace stared at their opponent, watching how Thalia’s lithe body moved, the way her lean muscles rippled under her shirt, how she handled the broom with practiced ease. Suddenly, the broom was knocked from Mace’s hand, and the non-bristled end of Thalia’s broom was pushed ever-so-slightly into their throat.

“You owe me a candy bar,” she said, the tiniest smirk playing across her lips. “You know what I like.” She checked her watch. “Okay, Anna said we’d have a “free time” break at noon, and it’s 12:05 right now. The barn’s as swept as it’ll ever be. I’m yeeting, see you later.” She leaned her broom against the wall and headed up to the staff lounge. Mace did the same, stopping at the camp store first to get Thalia a caramello bar. They tossed it to her before sitting down on the couch and opening tumblr.

_ Fellas, is it gay to have a flirty broomstick sword fight with your coworker who also happens to be your best friend? _


	4. Sneak out

“Arizona,  _ freeze! _ ” Thalia hissed. “Cactus position!” Behind her, the 10 campers that had accompanied her on an “unauthorized” sneaky nighttime trip out of their cabin to get cereal from the dining hall froze, their arms akimbo, imitating cacti. Slowly, carefully, Thalia approached the bobbing light that had emerged from the health lodge laundry room. Her heartbeat began to accelerate.  _ It was Mace _ . God, out of all the people she could’ve encountered, why did it  _ have _ to be Mace, her crush, the master naturalist?

“Oh, hey, T,” Mace said. 

“Hey, Mace,” Thalia replied, trying to keep her voice even. Behind her, her girls broke out into giggles. Mace tried to peer around her, frowning. Thalia stepped in the way. “Lovely night, isn’t it?” She said hurriedly.

“Uh-huh. Sure,” Mace said, still trying to look past Thalia into the gloom.

“So, uh, what’re you doing out so late?” Thalia asked, trying to distract her crush.

“One of my kids threw up,” Mace said. “I was putting their sheets in the wash, and getting new ones. You know, I could ask you the same question.”

“Oh, I’m just heading back to my cabin from the staff lounge,” Thalia said.

“What were you doing in the staff lounge?” Mace asked.

“Enjoying my day off,” Thalia replied. Mace raised an eyebrow. 

“I thought your day off was Wednesday,” Mace said. “It’s Tuesday.” 

“No, my day off’s Tuesday,” Thalia said. “It’s always been Tuesday.”

“Really?” Mace asked. “Could’ve sworn it was Wednesday. You know, because you were all excited about not having to camp out.”

“Nope. Tuesday,” Thalia replied.

“ _ Psst! Mace! _ ” One of the girls hissed, and there was a fit of giggling. Mace finally sidestepped Thalia and shone their light on the girls who, to their credit, were standing stock-still in their cactus poses.

“What’s this?” They asked. 

“Oh! It’s, uh, a new species of cactus!” Thalia stammered.

“Is that right?” Mace asked. 

“Uh-huh. Brand new and highly invasive,” Thalia replied.

“And what would this  _ brand new and highly invasive _ species of cactus be called, perchance?” Mace asked smugly. 

“The Arizona… walking cactus?” Thalia said, trying desperately to think on the spot.

“Is that a question?” Mace teased.

“The Arizona walking cactus,” Thalia repeated firmly. “Should’ve been in the morning meeting notes. They’ve become a  _ real _ problem lately. I must’ve seen at least fifty of ‘em between the staff lounge and here.”

“Is that right?” Mace asked. Thalia nodded. “Well, seeing as you don’t have any kids to look after, may I walk you back to your cabin?” Mace asked, jokingly holding their arm out like an old-fashioned gentleman. Blushing slightly, Thalia took it. Motioning subtly to her girls to follow her, she allowed Mace to walk her back to her cabin. The next morning at breakfast, Mace walked up to Arizona’s table. 

“Hey T,” they said. “I was trying to look up that new cactus of yours, but nothing came up. Do you think you could send me a link?”

“Of course,” Thalia said. “ _ Anything _ for you, my favorite person in the whole wide world.” Mace laughed. 

“Oh thank you  _ ever _ so much, my hero,” they teased. “ _ Whatever _ would I do without you?” that afternoon as Thalia and Mace sat in the staff room on their break, Thalia sent Mace a fake wikipedia screenshot, intentionally horribly photoshopped, for the Arizona walking cactus, and the grin Mace gave her as they received it was enough to make Thalia’s heart melt.


	5. Theatre kids

“You ready to  _ lose _ ?” 

“Are  _ you _ ?”

Thalia and Mace stood on opposite sides of the line of cones that cut fox field in half, arms crossed. It was capture the flag night. Thalia and her cabin were on the purple team while Mace, Teddy, and their cabin were white team, and bragging rights were on the line. The whistle blew and the game began. Thalia sauntered over the boundary line, but was immediately blocked by Mace.

“What do you think you’re doing?” They asked. 

“Oh, just going to grab the flag,” Thalia replied nonchalantly.

“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that,” Mace said. 

“I’d like to see you try and stop me,” Thalia challenged. She darted to the side, taking off running. Mace sprinted after her, tackling her to the ground. 

“Ha!” They said triumphantly, both of them laughing as Mace seized Thalia by the bicep and hauled her to her feet. “Gotcha. It’s prison for you, missy.”

“Oh  _ no _ !” Thalia wailed dramatically, pretending to swoon and faint. “Not  _ prison! _ ”

“Ugh, theatre kids,” Mace muttered under their breath, just loud enough for Thalia to hear, but they were grinning as they led Thalia to the white team jail. Thalia struggled, trying to get away, but Mace’s fingers dug into her bicep, holding her fast. They gave her a light shove, sending her stumbling into the jail.

“Nothing personal, T,” Mace teased. “But I have a game to win now. See ya!”


	6. Survival Campout

“Hey T…” Mace said, walking up to Thalia in the staff lounge during free time break on Thursday.

“No way,” Thalia said immediately.

“You don’t even know what I’m gonna ask!” Mace protested.

“Yes I do!” Thalia said. “You’re gonna ask me the same thing you ask me  _ every _ Thursday during free time, and  _ no _ , I will  _ not  _ be helping out with survival campout.”

“Oh, come on,” Mace begged. “Please? We’ve actually got a good survival skills group this week, not just a bunch of gross boys with pyromaniac tendencies.”

“ _ No _ ,” Thalia said. “I refuse to sleep on leaves with bugs falling on me the whole night.”

“Okay, so what if I told you the counselors are in hammocks under a pavilion?” Mace asked.

“Still nope,” Thalia replied.

“And I have bratwursts for the counselors to roast over the fire,” Mace continued. “And s’mores supplies.”

“The works?” Thalia asked.

“The works,” Mace confirmed. “And we don’t have to share with the kids.”

“I hate you,” Thalia said. 

“So you’re coming?” Mace asked.

“Yes I’m coming, asshole,” Thalia sighed. “But if the s’mores stuff was just a plot to get me on the campout, I’m putting a rat snake in your sleeping bag.”

“You know I love snakes, dude,” Mace laughed. “That’s not much of a threat.”

“Yeah, well you aren’t gonna like it when the fucker’s biting your feet,” Thalia replied.

“You’d be surprised,” Mace said, grinning. Thalia shoved their shoulder. 

“I don’t need to hear about your fetishes, thank you very much,” she teased. Both of them burst into laughter. “I’ve got fourth period off, so I can pack. What do I need?”

“Pretty much whatever you’d need for normal campout,” Mace said. “Hammock, blankets, sweatshirt, sweatpants, headlamp, etcetera etcetera.”

“Gotcha,” Thalia said. “I’ll be there.”

That evening, after fourth period, Thalia joined Mace; the male survival skills teacher, Joe; and their survival skills class by the ATV and trailer. She carried her hiking backpack, which was stuffed with blankets and sweatshirts, her hammock, her headlamp, her phone and charger, and some extra power banks. Mace threw their arm around her shoulder. 

“Ready to do this?” They asked. 

“Depends,” Thalia said. “You got  _ the stuff _ ?” Mace held up a small cooler bag. 

“In here,” they replied.

“Then yes,” Thalia said. “I’m ready.”

“Good,” Mace said. They grinned. Thalia grinned back. They helped the kids grab their stuff, then they hiked down to the campsites and the surrounding woods, where the kids would be sleeping. For a while, they did rounds, making sure everyone was doing ok. When the kids settled into their shelters to try and sleep, Thalia and Mace retired to their campsite, quickly transforming a pile of twigs and dryer lint into a roaring fire. They sat on logs across from each other, cooking bratwursts and s’mores, talking and laughing. It was a beautiful night, clear and cool. The full moon shone down on the two friends.

“God, this is amazing,” Thalia said.

“Yeah,” Mace said. “Sure beats trying to manage a cabin full of screaming kids, doesn’t it?”

“I’m sensing ulterior motives,” Thalia said. Mace shrugged.

“You’ve been really stressed with your kids this week,” they said. “Thought I’d get you a break.”

“Mace Goodfellow, that’s the sweetest ulterior motive I’ve ever heard,” Thalia said. Mace blushed, hoping the darkness would hide it.

“You’re my best friend,” they said. “Don’t like seeing you stressed.” Thalia gazed up at the sky, stars reflected in her bright green eyes. The light from the campfire made her face glow gold, while the moonlight made her hair shine silver. She looked like an angel.

“Isn’t this such a beautiful night, woah-oh,” she sang. “We’re underneath a thousand shining stars.”

“Isn’t it nice to find yourself somewhere different, whoa-oh, why don’t you let yourself just be wherever you are,” Mace joined in. 

“I wish I could do this forever,” Thalia said suddenly.

“Do what?” Mace asked.

“This,” Thalia replied, gesturing around her. “Live with you in the woods. I wish I didn’t have to go back to my cabin. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love them, but I just  _ hate _ that age group. I’ve nearly had a breakdown every day this week. But out here…” she looked at the stars. “Everything’s gone. All the stress, all the worry, eveything. It’s just me and you and Mother Nature.”

“Ah yes, Mother Nature, the ultimate third wheel,” Mace joked. Thalia giggled. 

“I’ve been talking to Anna and Ari about getting moved to a different cabin,” she said. “They said they’d see about moving me.” 

“I’m glad,” Mace said. They sat up and talked for a while, then Mace extinguished the fire and the pair got into their hammocks. 

“Hey Mace?” Thalia asked.

“Yeah?” Mace replied. 

“Do you think this could become a regular thing?” Thalia asked. “Like, me doing survival campout with you?”

“If that’s what you want,” Mace said, trying to conceal how happy they were.

“Yeah,” Thalia said. “Yeah, I think I’d like that.”


	7. Chaotic smart, chaotic stupid, and chaotic

“Guys guys  _ guys _ !” Thalia said running up to Teddy and Mace at morning meeting.

“What, what, what?” Mace asked. Their hands were wrapped around a steaming mug of tea, while Teddy held a rather unnecessary energy drink. Mace’s question was answered by a bundle of black fabric hitting them in the face. 

“The shirts came in!” Thalia said excitedly, handing Teddy another bundle of fabric. Mace set their tea down, and the trio spread out the shirts on the table. Ever since the three friends, or the three musketeers, as they were jokingly known among the staff, had been designated as head counselors for the LARP course, Thalia had decided they needed matching t-shirts. The art she’d designed was simple: a d20 with crossed swords behind it, with Celtic-style text underneath. Mace’s d20 was the light blue, pink, and white of the transgender pride flag, and their text read “chaotic smart.” Thalia’s d20 was the magenta, purple, and blue of the bisexual pride flag, and her text read “chaotic stupid.” Teddy’s d20 was the rainbow hues of the gay pride flag, and their text simply read “chaotic.” Teddy grinned. 

“Oh, that’s  _ perfect _ !” Teddy said, laughing. Mace grinned. 

“Yeah, T, that’s really awesome,” they said. “You did such a good job,” Thalia went a little pink.

“Well, it wasn’t  _ really _ me,” she said. “It was mostly the printing company.”

“Just take the compliment, kiddo,” Teddy said. 

“Hey, you don’t get to “kiddo” me!” Thalia protested. “You’re the sane age as me, a half-inch shorter, and twice as hyper! If anything,  _ you’re _ the kiddo!”

“Hey, we should all wear these shirts tomorrow,” Mace said. “Seeing as it’s Plot Day and all.” The LARP Course had five different activities for the five different days. Monday was character day, where the kids created the characters they’d be embodying for the week. Tuesday was shield day, where the kids designed their own coat of arms and painted them on cardboard shields. Wednesday was fighting tutorial day, where the kids learn how to use foam swords and the Disney song-based magic system that Thalia had come up with to fight. Thursday was plot day, where the kids were given a quest to complete. Finally, Friday was feast day, where Mace, Teddy, and Thalia made or bought cake, cookies, or ice cream for the kids, along with candy and apple cider. 

The next day, Mace, Teddy, and Thalia did indeed wear their shirts. Martin, the photographer, took pictures of all three of them, as well as a picture of just Thalia and Mace. Mace had their arm around Thalia’s shoulders, and both of them were brandishing their foam swords and laughing, the words “chaotic smart” and “chaotic stupid” clearly visible across their chests. Martin later sent the photo to Thalia, who made it the lock screen on her phone. She wanted to remember this moment forever.


	8. Sike, bitch

“Hey gang,” Anna said, walking into Sunday meeting. “The national weather service has us on a heat advisory all week this week, so we can’t do campout. So what we’re gonna do instead is have a camp- _in_ here in the dining hall. Foil packs and such will get made in bear’s den while the village who isn’t camping in eats dinner, then we’ll cook the packs in the oven and the other village will get to eat. Then you guys will go grab your stuff from your cabins, then come back for a talent show and the camp-in. And I _do_ expect at least one counselor from each cabin to participate in the talent show. O- _kay_?” 

“Okay,” the counselors chorused. 

“Hey, are you gonna do the talent show?” Mace asked Thalia after the meeting as the two went to grab lunch.

“Duh,” Thalia said. 

“Of course,” Mace teased. “Showoff.” Thalia stuck her tongue out at them. 

“We should do something together,” she suggested. 

“Like what?” Mace asked. 

“Well, you know that video I showed you?” Thalia asked. “The one of Andrew Keenan-Bolger and Jay Armstrong Johnson doing “sixteen going on seventeen?” We could recreate that.”

“Anna would never let us do that,” Mace said. 

“If we cut the kiss at the end, it’d be fine,” Thalia said. 

“Even without the kiss, it’s pretty damn flirty,” Mace replied. “We’d have to tone it down significantly.”

“Okay, I’ll make a deal with you,” Thalia said. “I’ll text Anna and ask, but if she says yes, you have to do it with me.”

“Yeah, okay, deal,” Mace said. Thalia spat on her hand and held it out. Mace did the same, shaking Thalia’s hand.

That night, as Mace and Teddy sat in the staff room of Utah cabin, doing paperwork, Mace’s phone buzzed. Mace picked it up and looked at it. 

_From: T: Anna says we can do it! ;-)_ Mace groaned.

“What’s up?” Teddy asked. 

“So there’s this video that Thalia showed me,” Mace said. “It’s Andrew Keenan-Bolger and Jay Armstrong Johnson performing “sixteen going on seventeen” from _The Sound of Music_.” 

“Am I supposed ta know who either a those people are?” Teddy asked.

“They’re Broadway actors,” Mace explained. “Andrew Keenan-Bolger was Crutchie in Newsies, and Jay Armstrong Johnson was Jack a couple times.” They pulled up the video and showed it to Teddy. “So Thalia wanted to recreate this with me for the talent show, and being the _idiot_ that I am, I agreed as long as Anna gave the go-ahead.”

“And Anna just gave the go-ahead?” Teddy guessed.

“Yeah,” Mace said. “Anna just gave the go-ahead.”

“Let’s just…uh… go watch a movie!” Mace suggested. It was Wednesday night, and they were onstage with Thalia in front of the whole western village.

“No!” Thalia replied. “Please, dude, I’m goin’ to the Glade!”

“Please, _dude_ , why do you _need_ to go out there?” Mace demanded, grabbing Thalia’s arm.

“Cuz it’s clean and green and pretty, with no buildings in ya way,” Thalia sang.

“No no no, that’s it, we’re going to the staff lounge,” Mace said. 

“No!” Thalia said, more emphatically this time. “Fine. You go. I’m heading to the Glade.”

“No, it’s too dangerous!” Mace protested. “You’re just a baby!”

“I’m not a baby!” Thalia protested. “I’m eighteen.” Mace raised an eyebrow.

“You’re sixteen,” they replied.

“ _Nearly_ seventeen!” Thalia said. Mace grabbed her shoulders and pushed her down onto one of the chairs onstage, took a deep breath, and started singing. 

“You wait, little girl, on an empty stage, for fate to turn the light on…” they soared through the song, Thalia’s clear soprano voice perfectly contrasting Mace’s smooth tenor. The audience ate it up, breaking down laughing when Mace and Thalia had an elaborate “slap fight” onstage. The pair high fived on the way back to their table. There were more acts that night: singing, dancing, playing the ukulele, some short skits, tumbling, and contortion. Thalia blew everyone away by singing Jeremy Jordan’s mashup version of Santa Fe. After the last act had gone and the kids had gotten into their sleeping bags, Thalia took out her ocarina. Holding the instrument to her lips, she began to play. She started with Disney classics like “I can go the distance,” “Feed the Birds,” and “a whole new world.” She then moved onto songs from _Zelda_ and _Lord of the Rings_ before switching to Irish and Scottish folk songs. Mace stared at her, sitting cross-legged on the stage, her fingers dancing over the holes of her ocarina as the haunting melody of “Loch Lomond” floated over the room.

 _Yeah_ , Mace thought. _I think I’m in love with this girl._


	9. She’s trying to kill me

Mace watched the young woman from across the room as she talked with Ari and Anna. They had a feeling that they’d seen her before, but at the same time, they were sure they’d never seen her before in her life. Still, she was adorable with her short black hair streaked with red, shaved on the sides and longer and fluffier on top.

“It’s a bit late in the season for a new counselor, don’t you think?” Mace asked Teddy, who was sitting next to them. “Also, where’s Thalia? I haven’t seen her all weekend.”

“That  _ is _ Thalia, dumbass,” Teddy said, and everything clicked in Mace’s mind. That’s why the girl had looked so familiar. The small and slender frame, the lean muscles, the way she stood, like a sword fighter about to spring into action.

“Holy shit,” Mace said. “She’s trying to kill me.”

“What?” Teddy asked.

“This past week during our free period, we were talking about what made people most attractive to us, and I said short hair,” Mace explained. “And now she comes in with short hair! She’s trying to kill me!” Teddy rolled their eyes. 

“You’re overthinkin’ this,” They said. “She prob’ly just got it cut cuz she had a lotta hair and it’s fuckin’ boiling out here. Anyway, she’s done with Anna an’ Ari. Go talk ta her.” They shoved Mace towards Thalia, then went and sat down.

“Oh hey, Mace!” Thalia said, spotting her friend.

“Hey,” Mace replied. “You…uh… you got a haircut.”

“Yeah,” Thalia said, grinning self-consciously. “It was getting really long, and it kept getting caught on things, so I just decided to get it cut.”

“Well I like it,” Mace blurted out before they could stop themself. “It looks good on you.” Thalia went slightly pink.

“Thanks,” She said.


	10. Loud and clear

“Kelly.”

”Conlon.” Mace and Thalia greeted each other on the way to breakfast. It was Thursday of week five, which was historical figures week, and Mace and Thalia had both dressed as newsies. Thalia was dressed as Spot Conlon, wearing a striped red shirt that was mostly sleeveless, navy blue pants, grey suspenders, and a grey newsboy cap. Mace, on the other hand, was dressed as Jack Kelly, with a light blue button down, a dark grey vest, dark grey pants, and a lighter grey cap.

“Whaddya say we call a truce fa today?” Thalia asked in an absolutely flawless Brooklyn accent. “I got littles ta take care of.”

“Yeah, sure,” Mace replied, giving the accent their best try and mostly succeeding. “I got littles a my own ta watch.” They spat in their palm and held it out to Thalia, who did the same. Thalia grinned. 

“Brooklyn, let’s go!” She yelled, starting to walk in the direction of the dining hall. Her kids, about half of whom were dressed as newsies, followed. “Newsies need our help today!” She yelled.

“Newsies need our help today!” Her kids repeated.

“Tell ‘em Brooklyn’s on their way!”

“Tell ‘em Brooklyn’s on their way!”

“We’re from:”

“Brooklyn!”

“We are:”

“Newsies!”

“We are Brooklyn Newsies!” Mace laughed as the gaggle of singing children receded into the distance.

“Is that song from Newsies?” Teddy asked. 

“Yeah,” Mace replied.

“She’s a strange one,” Teddy said. “But I gotta give it ta her: she doesn’t do things by half measures.”


	11. August 11

After a long, hard 12 weeks of summer, it was finally August 11th. Time to go home. Mace helped Thalia pack, then Thalia returned the favor. They loaded their stuff onto trailers, which took the luggage to the cars, and Thalia and Mace helped each other load it into their respective trunks.

“Well, I guess this’s it, then,” Mace said.

“Yeah,” Thalia replied. “You go have fun in Wisconsin without me.” Mace laughed.

“Yeah,” They said. “And you go have fun in…Minnesota?” 

“ _ Michigan _ , you ass,” Thalia huffed. She was pretending to be mad, but she couldn’t hide her laughter.

“Right,” Mace said. “You make sure you stay in touch. If you don’t respond to my messages within a week, I’m driving all the way to  _ Michigan _ to pop your toes.”

“Yeah, well, the same goes for you, buddy,” Thalia retorted. She pecked Mace on the cheek and headed off to her car. Mace ran after her, spinning her around and planting a kiss on her lips. They broke away after a few minutes, grinning. 

“I’m gonna miss you,” Mace said breathlessly.

“I’m gonna miss you too,” Thalia replied.


End file.
